Putting The Brakes On Unsafe Trucking Companies

FMCSA Announces Changes to Reporting of Adjudicated Citations

The Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration (FMCSA) announced in a Federal Register Notice this week that beginning August 23, 2014, motor carriers and drivers will be able to request the removal of roadside inspection violations from agency data systems to more accurately reflect outcomes of judicial proceedings. The updated policy will enable carriers and drivers to request, through the DataQs system the removal of violations that were previously uploaded into FMCSA’s Motor Carrier Management Information System by state enforcement agencies when a driver is found not guilty or if a violation is dismissed in court. FMCSA systems will continue to retain and display violations that result in a conviction or payment of fine. Persons who plead to or are convicted of a lesser charge will also have that information reflected. The changes are part of the agency’s continued effort to improve the quality and uniformity of violation data that is accessible across FMCSA systems to sharpen the focus on unsafe carriers and drivers. FMCSA considered more than 100 public comments before finalizing the updated policy, which has wide support within the commercial motor vehicle industry. For more information on the announcement visit:http://www.fmcsa.dot.gov/regulations/rulemaking/2014-13022.